Tape drive unit and recording medium

(19)

(11)

EP 1 008 987 A3

(12)	EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88)	Date of publication A3:
	27.10.2004 Bulletin 2004/44

(43)	Date of publication A2:
	14.06.2000 Bulletin 2000/24

(21)	Application number: 99309959.7

(22)	Date of filing: 10.12.1999

(51)	International Patent Classification (IPC)⁷: G11B 15/07, G06F 3/06, G11B 27/11, G11B 27/30, G11B 27/32

(84)	Designated Contracting States:
	AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
	Designated Extension States:
	AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30)

Priority:

11.12.1998 JP 35338798

(71)	Applicant: Sony Corporation
	Tokyo 141-0001 (JP)

(72)	Inventor:
	Takayama, Yoshihisa Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo (JP)

(74)	Representative: Ayers, Martyn Lewis Stanley et al
	J.A. KEMP & CO., 14 South Square, Gray's Inn London WC1R 5JJ London WC1R 5JJ (GB)

(54)	Tape drive unit and recording medium

(57) A drive unit includes a tape driver for writing/reading information on/from a magnetic tape in the tape cassette including the magnetic tape and a memory for writing management information for managing writing on or reading from the magnetic tape when the tape cassette is loaded, a memory driver for writing/reading management information on/from the memory of the loaded tape cassette, and a controller in which when the tape driver executes an operation of writing or erasing information on the magnetic tape, or an operation of initializing the magnetic tape, the controller controls the memory driver to set flags in the management information of the memory to indicate that the operation is being executed, and in which, in accordance with completion of the operation, the controller controls the memory driver to reset the flags.

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